Mitigation of light glare during driving

Abstract

A system for mitigating glare from at least one light source while driving a vehicle. The system includes determining an occurrence of a glare condition based on, at least in part, a visible light video stream generated by a visible light sensor. Upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, indicia are presented at the vehicle display to assist in navigation of the vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a computing device that includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor, including instructions to:
 determine an occurrence of a glare condition based on, at least in part, a visible light video stream from a visible light sensor; and 
 upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, output indicia at a vehicle display to a vehicle operator. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the indicia include an indicator of at least one of a pedestrian, a vehicle, a path marking, and a traffic sign. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to, upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, present a blended video stream at the vehicle display, the blended video stream presenting an infrared video stream from an infrared sensor as a semi-transparent layer over the visible light video stream. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 wherein the instructions further include instructions to identify at least one region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by a light source; and   wherein the indicia include at least a portion of an infrared video stream from an infrared sensor corresponding to the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to:
 generate a blended video stream, the blended video stream combining the visible light video stream and the infrared video stream such that the portion of the infrared video stream corresponding to the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source is layered over the visible light video stream; and   present the blended video stream on the vehicle display upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 wherein the visible video stream includes an image frame; and   wherein the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source is defined by a continuous area extending from the light source with a color saturation above a threshold saturation level.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the glare condition is based on, at least in part, determining a vertical position of a light source in the visible light video stream is below a height threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 wherein the instructions further include instructions to detect when a vehicle user's eyes are partially closed based on a vehicle interior video stream; and   wherein the glare condition is further based on a detection that the vehicle user's eyes are partially closed.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sun visor sensor to detect when a sun visor is positioned in a shading position; and   wherein the glare condition is further based on the sun visor positioned in the shading position.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 wherein the visible light video stream includes an image frame;   wherein the glare condition is based on, at least in part, a frame saturation level exceeding a frame saturation threshold, the frame saturation level being proportional to a count of pixels in the image frame above a pixel saturation threshold.   
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 determining an occurrence of a glare condition based on, at least in part, a visible light video stream generated by a visible light sensor; and   upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, presenting indicia at a vehicle display to assist in navigation of the vehicle.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, presenting a blended video stream at the vehicle display, the blended video stream presenting an infrared video stream from an infrared sensor as a semi-transparent layer over the visible light video stream. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 wherein the vehicle display is a heads-up display positioned in a user field of view; and   wherein the indicia include an indicator of at least one of a pedestrian, a vehicle, a path marking, and a traffic sign in front of the vehicle.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 identifying at least one region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by a light source; and   wherein the indicia include at least a portion of an infrared video stream corresponding to the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source, the infrared video stream generated by an infrared sensor.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 generating a blended video stream, the blended video stream combining the visible light video stream and the infrared video stream such that the portion of the infrared video stream corresponding to the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source is layered over the visible light video stream; and   presenting the blended video stream on the vehicle display upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 wherein the visible light video stream includes an image frame; and   wherein the region in the visible light video stream potentially obscured by the light source is defined by a continuous area extending from the light source with a color saturation above a threshold saturation level.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the glare condition is based on, at least in part, determining a vertical position of a light source in the visible light video stream is below a height threshold. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 detecting when a vehicle user's eyes are partially closed; and   wherein the glare condition is further based on a detection that the vehicle user's eyes are partially closed.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the glare condition is further based on a sun visor positioned in a shading position. 
     
     
         20 . A computer program product comprising:
 a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to:   determine an occurrence of a glare condition based on, at least in part, a visible light video stream generated by a visible light sensor; and   upon determining the occurrence of the glare condition, present indicia at a vehicle display to assist in navigation of the vehicle.